


Always there, always protecting

by CNS



Series: Blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bruce is awkward, Hulk is a matchmaker, Hulk is always there, Hulk view, Past bullied Darcy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 22:19:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/816694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CNS/pseuds/CNS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hulk has always, always been there for Bruce, even though Bruce doesn't know it. Hulk always has and always will act in what he believes to be Bruce's best interest, too. Even if that's giving Bruce a mental kick to look past his screen and notice a pretty girl wearing a green shirt and socks come in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always there, always protecting

**Author's Note:**

> The summary is probably awful, and the story is a tiny bit disjointed in places, but I like it. I read up on the maaaany versions of the Hulk, and while I like more simple minded Hulks I read about, I also like the idea that Hulk is just as smart as Bruce (not science-wise), but can't get most of the words past his lips.

The other guy, the Hulk, had been around for far longer than Bruce realized. Bruce might figure it out if he were to face his demon, but he'd been conditioned to submit and hide since his intelligence started to show, so while it might have displeased Hulk that Bruce did not look and find that he had been there almost as long as Bruce had lived, he could understand it. He knew he was often a bad influence on Bruce, and that if Bruce heeded his own thoughts he wouldn't get into half as much trouble. Hulk could not contain himself though, because anything, anything that sparked his temper made him lose all sense and direct Bruce to do terrible things with his intelligence. He could have kept quiet, and Bruce wouldn't have constructed the bomb that got him kicked out of school. It had been a dud, but if it hadn't? Bruce wouldn't have been able to stand himself, and might have tried to kill himself. Hulk couldn't have protected him then unless he took over Bruce's body and made Bruce go to sleep, but that was only a temporary solution and would not save him in the long run, because Bruce was smart enough to outwit Hulk eventually. Hulk was so, so angry when Bruce started testing on himself in his desperation to meet deadlines. That wasn't what he was supposed to do, he might die without even trying! But Bruce gave Hulk an unintentional gift. Green had always been Bruce's favourite colour. It reminded him of his mother's favourite shirt and socks, or her eyes... It made him feel calm and was like his mother's laugh; safe. Hulk could protect Bruce now, from himself and from the world, but to Hulk's bewilderment and horror, green became a colour Bruce consciously hated and associated with fear and rage and violence. He didn't understand why this was, because he wasn't as connected to Bruce's mind anymore, but didn't Hulk protect him? Didn't Hulk save his life? In his subconscious though, green kept all its old meanings, tattered around the edges like well loved pages, but still there. The best of Bruce came out to shine, as well as some of the bad.

\---

Blue had never meant much. Blue had been chemicals in the ozone, a reflected colour on large bodies of water, his least favourite teacher's nails, the colour of the medal ribbon that Thaddeus Ross was most proud of. Hulk kind of hated the colour, because of the last two. Then again, Hulk kind of hated every colour that wasn't green. Bruce was so lonely and bitter inside, yet still so kind and gentle to a world that didn't deserve him. Hulk had never meant for Bruce to be lonely. Tony was tolerable, because he made Bruce feel human again, which pleased Hulk. Thor was still something of a question mark, for while he had tried to calm Hulk and bring Bruce back on the Helicarrier, he had had no qualms about fighting him and had even seemed to enjoy it. Immensely. But Hulk could kind of understand enjoying fighting a strong opponent, so Thor was maybe alright. He was still fun to punch though. Steve was alright, because he didn't seem too scared of Hulk and treated him just like Bruce and everyone else. Hulk almost wasn't sure what to do with Steve, just because of that. Tony might make Bruce feel human, but he still treated Hulk carefully. It was hard to tell for Bruce, but Hulk could see it clearly and practically smell the wariness under the metal. Natasha practically reeked of a mixture of uneasiness and fear whenever he was out to play. He did feel bad about throwing her, for she had only tried to help, but it wasn't like she stuck around him when the team had sparring sessions, and he couldn't just roar an apology. She'd be more likely to do something potentially triggering that would make him lose his sense, even though he was better at keeping it and giving Bruce a small insight into it. Clint was the most difficult for Hulk to deal with. Clint was an angry person too. Tony was as well, but not the way Clint was. Clint's anger had more layers than even Bruce and Hulk's, so Hulk was inclined to actually like the archer, as well as feel bad for him as he obviously did not have any sort of Hulk of his own to protect him. Or perhaps Clint's was still just trapped inside?

As Hulk had more than enough time in between appearances to muse about anything and everything, he was back to the colour blue when she river danced her way in. Bruce wasn't paying attention, which was typical when he was wrapped up in his own field of genius, but Hulk was paying attention. Her eyes were blue, but she had on a green shirt and green socks. The rest of her outfit comprised of red and black, but the shirt and socks stuck in Hulk's mind. Safe. Bruce's mother. He was willing to give this young female a chance (for what though he did not know), so he magnanimously gave Bruce a shove so his focus would shift past his screen. He greeted her in his normal awkward manner which made Hulk want to bemoan his fate and roll around hugging a pillow. Unfortunately though, he could no longer just borrow Bruce's body like that. She responded brightly enough, waving around a file and saying he'd forgotten it in the cafeteria, which was just typical wasn't it? She'd brought him a tea, because she'd been told he didn't have coffee. While it wasn't Bruce's preferred form of tea (and oh how Hulk despised tea, for it tasted so ick), it was still tea and the thought was novel. Usually, people trying to get in Bruce's good books only brought him coffee and didn't bother trying to find out what he liked. She gained Hulk's pleased approval when, to add to the green she wore, she told Bruce that he and the Hulk were her favourites, and that it was a shame there was no pen large enough for Hulk to hold so he could sign a poster for her. Hulk shared her disappointment, and hoped Tony had Jarvis listening and relaying.

\---

Bruce had thought that the girl wasn't going to come back. Bruce could be quite stupid sometimes. The girl most definitely intended to; it was obvious in how long she delayed leaving, how much she genuinely smiled at Bruce, and how she'd peeked back over her shoulder before leaving. She'd danced around the subject of who she was, and Hulk caught mild apprehension in her eyes and the curl of her mouth. Things that Bruce seemed to miss, for Bruce seemed to be doomed to miss these things. He should be thanking Hulk for keeping track of these things for him and giving him the nudges he needed. She introduced herself as Betty, or Jessica, or as Clarissa Von Dastardly, but even Bruce could see the names weren't real. He didn't ask though, and Hulk didn't see the need to nudge him to yet, because Bruce had secrets and this was clearly the girl's way of protecting a secret she had. Or perhaps...? No, it was a secret. Smiles slipped off her face like water off oil whenever her name was asked for. She made tea very well. That didn't mean much when it was just a bag and water, but Bruce privately thought that the teas she made with milk and honey were the best he'd ever had. Hulk agreed, even though he didn't like tea, but there was no way he'd ever say let that fact come to light. The girl was also surprisingly adaptable, and wasn't fazed by Clint dropping out of a ventilation shaft one afternoon to deliver a file to Bruce before leaving the way he came. She simply called after him that he should let her know his coffee preference for the next visit. Hulk did not want the girl to make perfect coffees for Clint, because he was a jealous creature at heart, but he supposed he had no control over the girl. What control he had over Bruce was laughably minimal to begin with, and Hulk wished again that he had a body of his own so that he could give Bruce a kick in the shins, and then grab the girl and hide her away until Clint got himself all set up with Natasha or some other individual who was not the girl. Things were fine for awhile, and then Tony decided to mess things up. True, that was not his intention, but it was the result.

"Hey Brucie, what's cookin'? Not chocolate cake I hope." Bruce, a forkful of chocolate cake halfway to his mouth, paused and looked past his screen at Tony.  
"What?"  
"You know? Chocolate cake? Brucie? You can do it? School hall?"  
"Uh..."  
"Oh come on! Everyone and their decrepit ancestors has read Matilda or _seen_ it at the very least!"  
"Well I'm glad you aren't wearing your hat inside." Turning, Tony's eyebrows rose.  
"Our Matilda is hiding in your lab, Brucie? You Cheshire, what did you do?"  
"I'm not anything like Matilda," said Darcy, grinning.  
"True," Tony conceded. "Matilda would have thrown Thor with her mind powers instead of using a taser on him." Bruce looked back and forth, then ate his small bit of cake. This brought Tony's attention back.  
"Don't worry, Brucie, you can stop eating it now, the Trunchbull isn't around."  
"Don't listen to him, you can do it Brucie!"  
"Uh..."  
"She'll smash the plate over your head when you're done!"  
"He'll cheat you out of your sugar!"  
"Stop. Please." And like magic, he got quiet, though the two were glaring at each other in a friendly manner. "I'd just like to finish my cake and my reading."  
"What's the occasion?" asked Tony, snagging a chair and straddling it as the girl wandered off to continue fixing his filing system for him.  
"Um... I'm not sure... It was just... here?"  
"Hmm. No matter, we can count it as celebrating the move."  
"Move?"  
"Yeah, we've set up a space for you in my lab!" said Tony, grinning. "This place'll be a workshop for personal stuff, but geniuses should never be alone for other stuff."  
"Says the man who made every piece of ground breaking technology in the last thirty or so years by himself. A man who's famous for shoving everyone else out who shows up to try and help."  
"To be fair, they were trying to steal my work, so shut up Lizzie." Not seeming to notice how the girl tensed, Tony continued while Bruce and Hulk watched with concern and calculations going through their heads separately. "Wait wait, that was the wrong one. What was it...? Darcy! Like the stuck up proud guy!"  
"Yeah," mumbled the girl. "The stuck up, prejudiced proud guy..." Plastering a smile so fake it hurt to look at onto her face, Darcy edged towards the door. "Bye boys, I gotta go check up on Jane." While Bruce frowned quietly and did nothing, and Tony continued on obliviously, Hulk's thoughts remained on the woman. With no name and a constant attitude, she'd been a girl. With a name and clear signs of past ill welcome of it, she was a woman. She had seen that life was ugly, and wasn't trying to brush it off. Instead she built a shield. If the world had more Hulks, it might be better. However... If it did, it might also be worse.

\---

Bruce's lab was moved up and joined with Tony's, and it was fine and dandy and wonderful. Except, Darcy didn't come by anymore with her perfect teas, odd little dance sections, and hummed INXS songs. She didn't come by to bully Bruce into dusting himself off and feeding himself something, to have a drink to keep hydrated, to have some sleep in his actual bed. Hulk would have kicked him in the shins if he wasn't feeling just as bereft. He was a little disgusted though with Bruce's method of 'complete. immersion. necessary'. Really, it wasn't like not taking care of himself was going to make her magically reappear. Jane Foster's lab had been an impromptu set up in Tony's wrecked penthouse so Jane had easy access to the roof and could study to see if it would be easier to recreate the Einstein-Rosen bridge from there, but after she had collected all necessary data she moved into a lab fifty floors below it to lurk and experiment. There was a whole floor dedicated to each Avenger (with the exception of Clint and Natasha, who shared a floor), and so Bruce's workshop was seven floors from the top. His shared lab with Tony was the floor beneath Tony's penthouse. Which meant that Darcy was far, far away, so why would she take the trouble to come all the way up just to see him? Finally deciding that Bruce's stomach growling was driving him insane, Hulk gave Bruce a good mental kick that drew his attention to the time. They'd been in the lab since two o'clock PM the previous day, and it was now ten thirty PM. Way past dinner, and he'd waved Tony off earlier so there likely wasn't anything made left. Seeing as he didn't feel like making himself anything, he decided to take the long elevator ride down so he could go out and get himself a sandwich. His first steps were more of a barely controlled stagger that nearly made him face plant, but he remained upright and made it to the elevator. Leaning against the wall after pressing the G button, he slipped off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was a little worrying that he couldn't seem to recall what he'd been working on, but Jarvis saved all his data so he could review it later. "Jarvis?" he mumbled, eyes closed, but appreciating the dimmed lights as the floor number ticked steadily down.  
"Yes, Doctor Banner?"  
"Where's a nearby place I can get a sandwich...?"  
"Sir would recommend the small deli three blocks south, Doctor Banner. Usually he has Ms. Potts retrieve them for him though. Would you like me to call someone to do it?"  
"No, no that's okay, Jarvis, I don't want to bother anyone." Bruce already believed he was a bother to someone just by existing, and he didn't like that. Hulk _really_ didn't like that, but what could he do?  
"Very well, Doctor Banner." It was peaceful for a few more floors, then the elevator stopped. When the doors opened, Bruce looked up, and he and Darcy froze. Back came the painfully fake smile.  
"Well hi there, Doc. Didn't expect to see you here this late."  
"Um... I didn't really expect to be using the elevator this late, to be honest." Darcy nodded, but hesitated.  
"I can wait for the elevator, you know." Bruce's shoulders slumped a little, and Hulk felt the urge to smash something. Just because she said that didn't mean she didn't like Bruce! Hulk did not particularly care about deities or anything but Jesus Christ, have mercy on him.  
"Um, sure, fine, whatever makes you more comfortable-"  
"Ms. Lewis," Jarvis spoke, smoothly inserting himself into the conversation. "I believe your destinations are so similar as to be exactly the same, so it would be more efficient if you joined Doctor Banner." Hulk almost wished Jarvis had a body he could hug. The AI was even smarter than he was given credit for.  
"Jarvis she doesn't have to-"  
"You're going to the deli too?"  
"Um... yes?"  
"Alright then, I might as well come along." The ride was completely quiet for a few floors, and Hulk would weep if he could. Bruce thought Darcy didn't like him, was afraid of him, and a bunch of other stupid stuff Hulk didn't have time for. Darcy, on the other hand, was just waiting to have her name ridiculed, judging by how her eyes looked and her posture. Bruce should really, really say something to their woman, but Hulk had no idea what might break the ice. Apparently, Bruce didn't either. "Umm... Nice weather?" he tried. She gave him an incredulous look.  
"Dude, did you just comment on the weather inside an elevator?"  
"Yes?"  
"You're more awkward than I thought." The laugh Bruce gave only seemed to cement that idea.  
"Yeah well... I guess I'm not the best at casual conversation."  
"Eh, my namesake wasn't either, so don't feel too bad. At least you're nice." Bruce glanced at her.  
"You know... Darcy... Your name is very nice."  
"Yeah? You're the first one who seems to think so." Bruce frowned.  
"I have a monster inside me." Oh Bruce did _not_ just use Hulk as a-! The little-!  
"He's not a monster!" Darcy immediately shot back, glaring and arms crossed. Which almost distracted Bruce, but when he kept his gaze on either the wall or Darcy's chin, Hulk was proud. Not that he'd ever give any indication.  
"Yeah? You're one of the very, very few that thinks that, and one changed her mind after awhile."  
"Well then she was a fu- sorry, a freaking idiot."  
"My point."  
"What?"  
"You say Darcy isn't a nice name, I say I have a monster inside. If you'll agree with me that Darcy is a nice name, then I'll agree that the other guy isn't a monster."  
"Careful, I'll get you to call him by his actual name next."  
"I doubt it."  
"You obviously have not seen my work. Niles, has he seen my work?"  
"No, Ms. Fine."  
"Ms. Fine?"  
"I'll educate you tomorrow, Bruce," said Darcy, patting Bruce's cheek. He tensed a little, but allowed it with some subtle prompting from Hulk. Bruce _really_ didn't know how lucky he was to have Hulk. As they exited the elevator and crossed the lobby, Hulk and Bruce breathed a synchronized sigh of relief upon noticing that it was a clear night and no umbrella would be needed. Darcy smirked, but didn't tease, thankfully. The debatably fresh air was a bit nippy (to put it mildly), but Bruce was very, very warm. Hulk crowed victoriously to himself when Darcy wound up pressed against Bruce's side. "Have you always been this warm?"  
"I'm not sure," Bruce mumbled, shrugging and unsure how to handle the girl against his side. Hulk neatly kicked any thoughts about age difference into an entirely different field, for they could worry about that later. For now they were busy. "I do know that my metabolism changed after the... accident."  
"Personally, I don't think it was an accident."  
"What?"  
"I don't really believe in gods of any sort, Bruce, except maybe demigods. However, I do think that what happened to you was deliberate. I think that somewhere up there, or down there depending on how you think, someone knew we'd need you and Hulk to be this way." She smiled. "We obviously got a good part of the deal, what with the eye candy and super smart saviors, but I think it was also to help you expand as people in ways not previously available to you."  
"All the Avengers?"  
"No. Well, yes. But I meant you and the Hulk." They picked out sandwiches, and Darcy neatly swiped Bruce's.  
"Darcy, I can pay for myself."  
"Oh? You don't have your wallet on you, dear doctor, so I'm supposing it's somewhere in your rooms, unable to pay your bill. Let me treat you, okay? Think of it as an apology for me thinking you'd be anything like the jerks I grew up with."

\---

Finally, Hulk was free for a bit! The rest of his team were scattered about, but it didn't matter much. There were robots everywhere, because Doctor Doom couldn't get humans to fight for him for any reason yet. Bruce would probably add other labels, like lancers or knights, but Hulk had no interest in any of that. All Hulk was interested in was smashing the sparks out of them. These ones made a more satisfying crunching sound than the last batch, so when Hulk wound up having a shot at Doctor Doom, he hit him more gently than he could have (even if it wasn't by much). Doom flew beautifully through the air and crashed through a store window. It was when he emerged that Hulk froze, then roared angrily. Threatening children was simply unacceptable. Who knew how many of them had lives somewhat similar to Bruce's childhood? Doom shouted some nonsense up at them, but Hulk was finding it hard to keep a grip on his sense now. He was seeing an ugly, bottleneck green and things would not end well for Doom if he kept gripping the child's neck like that. The child was young, pretty, and reminded him of.... Darcy. She didn't wear glasses, but she had a similar facial structure, wore sneakers, and had a loose shirt with the Hunger Games bird on it. The others were trying to convince Doom to let the girl go, but it wasn't really that effective. Hulk hated these situations. With an extreme amount of effort, he recalled his surroundings as they'd been when he landed. Off to his right, there was enough rubble for someone Bruce's size to sneak around and save the girl, but how? Hulk's mind worked on the problem with the same vicious energy he put into smashing. Doom's grip on the child's neck wasn't tight enough to cut off air, but it was tight enough to cause some breathing issues, and by the way the girl was panicking she might have asthma, which lowered the time window dramatically. There were enough pipes that Bruce could lift and hit Doom with, but would he loosen his grip enough for Bruce to pull the girl away? The answer was yes. By previous experience, Doom's grip always loosened when he was attacked, because he'd be going to raise his hands to protect himself and attack. So in a nutshell; Hulk pretends to get injured so he can fall sideways, Hulk goes to Bruce, Bruce sneaks around and grabs a pipe, Bruce hits Doom and pulls girl away, Hulk comes back and smashes Doom's sorry face into the cement repeatedly.

Hulk's plan worked beautifully, and once Doom was sufficiently mangled, he turned to look at the girl, who did indeed have an inhaler in her mouth. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and Hulk awkwardly tried to smile. "Safe now," he mumbled, before launching himself away to go and smash more things, because dealing with gratitude was not something he was known for. Let Tony or Steve charm her with their smiles.

\---

Villains must be suckers for punishment this week, really. First Doom with the asthmatic girl, and then today they had Piledriver threatening a bunch of kids on a field trip to Central Park. He'd been beaten eventually, but Hulk had seen one little boy get separated from his friends who had to keep running away to avoid getting injured in the crossfire. Hulk didn't like that. So he'd gone looking for the boy after the fight was over, and when he found him curled under a bush, he carefully lifted him out and cradled him against his chest, humming softly in his somewhat gravelly voice. Apparently, the relief of being safe meant that Hulk's sweat didn't bother the boy too much, because he fell asleep. "What was that?" Hulk's head whipped around to look at Darcy in disbelief.  
"Why Darcy here?" He kinda hated how his thoughts came out his mouth sometimes.  
"I was in the area," said Darcy, shrugging. "I didn't know Piledriver was here until the fighting started, then I helped the teacher get his class out of the park. He did a head count and found this kid missing so I volunteered to look for him." Hulk grunted in acknowledgement, and held the kid out to her. "So what were you humming?" Hulk shrugged.  
"Stupid song."  
"It's not stupid," said Darcy chidingly, smacking his arm gently. "It calmed him down, right?"  
"Hmm." Hulk retreated, and let Bruce come back. He was only disappointed that Mr. Fantastic had made a pair of pants that withstood both transformations, because he thought it would be funny if Bruce got embarrassed right now.  
"Ms. Lewis?" asked Bruce faintly, leaning against a tree.  
"Oh Mr. Sheffield," Darcy cooed in a nasally voice, wiggling her eyebrows.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"That's what Hulk asked. I was looking for this kid," she said, tilting her chin towards the child in her arms. "He was humming something."  
"The other guy doesn't hum."  
"Oh yeah he does. It sounded like if he'd sung it, it would have been 'I'm a little airplane now now, clangity clang, clangity clang'."  
"There'd be no way for him to know it. The other guy has never seen Sesame Street. I haven't either, for that matter."  
"Bruce, don't panic. I think it was sweet." Darcy smiled. "After all, my parents used to sing it to me." As Darcy and Bruce walked to return the kid to the class, Hulk started plotting. Darcy would really, really be good for Bruce. "Hey Bruce?"  
"Yes Darcy?"  
"We totally have to watch Sesame Street later."  
"Uh..."  
"Great! It's a date then." Oh yes, Darcy would definitely be good.


End file.
